The value of meat

By Andrea Frazeur

Marshall, Minn. -- Construction crews are busy at the Southwest State University Science and Technology building. They're installing a stainless steel walk-in cooler and freezer, tables, power cutters, vacuum packagers, a smoke house and steam cookers.

When they're finished, Minnesota will have a $600,000 AURI lab dedicated to keeping the state's livestock and meat industry strong.

The lab will provide processors, entrepreneurs and farm groups with the tools to develop new meat products. It will be a place where meat lockers can experiment with a secret-recipe sausage. And it will also be a resource for processors adopting "Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points" food-handling techniques.

Of prime importance

The combined value of all livestock and poultry on Minnesota farms was over $2.1 billion in 1996, according to Minnesota Agricultural Statistics. Minnesota ranks third in the nation in hog production, fifth in milk cows, ninth in cattle and calves on feed, and is second only to North Carolina in turkeys.

Cognizant of the importance of livestock to the state's economy, AURI set aside money for the meat lab years ago.

While many factors kept the lab from moving ahead quickly, eventually it made sense for AURI to construct the lab in Marshall in conjunction with the meat scientists and oils laboratory there. In June 1997, AURI signed a long-term lease with Southwest State University for the lab space.

Just in time

Americans eat more meat and poultry than they used to: average consumption per person has increased by more than 1.5 pounds a year since 1985, according to the American Meat Institute.

Studies also show that as many as 60 percent of Americans don't know at
4 p.m. what they will eat for dinner that night. In a 1995 National Restaurant Association survey, four out of 10 singles and half of households with children said that convenience is critical because they are so busy. Fully 25 percent of adults use restaurant or take-out meals to eliminate the chores associated with cooking at home.

At the same time, according to the Food Marketing Institute, nearly 80 percent of Americans say they are trying to eat healthier, and 42 percent are willing to pay more for low-fat versions of regular products.

Darrell Bartholomew, AURI animal products scientist, says several individuals and groups are interested in using the AURI meat lab to develop convenient, consumer-oriented products with pork, poultry, beef, lamb and alternative meats such as emu, venison and ostrich.

Equipped by experience

"This facility gives processors confidentiality," says architect Jerry Zuber, Glenwood. "Without this facility, when you want to develop a new product, you generally do it in someone else's meat processing facility. You're tied to their schedules. ... You run the risk of them taking the product before you get it to market."

Zuber, Baker and Ringdahl Architects, who have designed food-processing facilities for AURI clients, drew the blueprints for the new meat lab. Zuber's family has worked with food processors for 25 years.

The 2,000 sq. foot meat lab, which will have USDA approval, does not include slaughtering facilities. Boxed meat or carcasses will be trucked in.

Nevertheless, "our equipment capabilities will exceed most University meat labs," says Ted Gillett, who holds a doctorate in food science and will oversee the meat lab. He brings extensive experience as a consultant in the U.S. and foreign meat industry to AURI.

The lab's equipment includes a "silent cutter" to make items such as frankfurters or bologna, with a bowl that holds 100 pounds of product. Six spinning knives slide into the bowl and chop ingredients while the vacuum lid removes most of the air from the resulting puree. A vacuum stuffer for frankfurters, pepperoni or formed hams, a linker for twisting sausage casings, and an automatic peeler for removing sausage casings after smoking round out the machinery.

It's quite expensive: one piece of equipment can cost as much as $65,000 to $120,000, but Bartholomew and Gillett worked with manufacturers on price reductions so they could fully equip the lab. They also purchased high-quality used equipment to cut costs.

HACCP for all

Minnesota meat and poultry processing is a $3 billion industry with over 13,000 jobs. The state ranks sixth nationwide in red meat production, a figure that includes beef, veal, pork and lamb.

Adopting "Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points" systems is a major concern for Minnesota's 9,000 food handlers and 100 USDA-inspected meat processors.

HACCP is a process of identifying and preventing problems in food manufacturing that may affect public health (see story, this page). Developed by the Pillsbury Company in 1959 in cooperation with the national aerospace program, HACCP is widely recognized by scientific authorities and international organizations as the most effective approach to producing safe food.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has handed down a directive on HACCP. "A HACCP plan has to be provided for everyone handling potentially dangerous food," says Kevin Elfering of MDA's Dairy and Food Inspection Division. He says the legislation should be enacted in 1998.

AURI's former director Pat Jensen, a USDA deputy director before coming to AURI, promoted HACCP training as relevant to keeping Minnesota processors competitive across the nation. Current Executive Director Edgar Olson agrees: "Everyone has a concern about food safety. We want to make sure consumers purchase safe products from Minnesota sources."

At the meat lab, processors will learn decontamination methods like steam/hot water pasteurization and acid rinses. They can learn and test methods for monitoring facility cleanliness, employee hygiene and equipment sanitation.

Bartholomew is establishing a microbiological testing laboratory -- used for detecting microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeast and molds -- at AURI's facilities in Marshall. The microbiological lab includes a "bioluminometer," which uses firefly enzymes to check if the energy compound ATP, from animal or plant tissues or from microorganisms, is present after cleaning.

"A lot of processors, especially the smaller ones, are not real comfortable with microbial testing," Bartholomew says, "but it's important for measuring if the number of pathogens or microorganisms is lowered through a specific HACCP step."